Tag Archives: U.S.-Mexico Border Summit

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was the predominant subject during the keynote address of Wednesday’s U.S.-Mexico Border Summit at the El Paso Convention Center.

Former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo addressed the hundreds in attendance about the current relationship between the two countries and the Trump Administration’s expressed desire to end the NAFTA agreement.

“This is not ‘business as usual’ for our relationship. It’s always bound to be complex and challenging, but for the most part in previous administrations there was a lot of effort put into mutual respect and understanding,” Zedillo stated.

Prior to being elected as Mexico’s President in 1994, Zedillo, obtained his master’s and PhD degrees from Yale University in economics. He went on to serve with the Bank of Mexico and was named deputy-secretary of Budget Control. Zedillo led the PRI party’s macroeconomic approach to government.

NAFTA was negotiated by President George H.W. Bush and ratified in 1994 by President Clinton. For the most part, most economists agree that the agreement has been beneficial to the U.S. and say withdrawal or renegotiation of the agreement would negatively impact the United States economy, but more so Mexican economy.

“Is this going to be the end of the world?” Zedillo asked the audience. “No, I think it would be bad and uncomfortable for Mexico, but I think there are ways we can compensate if NAFTA is destroyed by the U.S. Government.”

During the 30 minute speech, Zedillo did not once address President Trump by name, instead, preferring to use the term “The American Executive.”

He is not the first former Mexican President that appears to have bad blood with the current administration. Vicente Fox, who succeeded Zedillo as Mexico’s President in 2000 has famously argued on Twitter with Trump’s insistence that Mexico was going to pay for the wall between the two countries.

Wednesday’s summit, which was hosted by the Borderplex Alliance, also featured other round tables and breakout sessions which included political and economic leaders from both sides of the border. The event is held annually to discuss issues facing the Border region.

Author/Photographer: Andra Litton – Special to the El Paso Herald-Post

Staff Report July 9, 2018NewsComments Off on Former President of Mexico Zedillo to Headline 2018 U.S.-Mexico Border Summit

On Monday, officials with the Borderplex Alliance and SMU Mission Foods Texas-Mexico Center announced that Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico, will be a keynote speaker at the 2018 U.S. – Mexico Border Summit, on August 15th at the El Paso Convention Center.

Zedillo said, “I’m excited to join The Borderplex Alliance and SMU Mission Foods Texas-Mexico Center for the 2018 U.S. – Mexico Border Summit in El Paso, Texas. The Borderplex region historically has been an economically, politically, and culturally critical region for our two great nations. I’m looking forward to what promises to be an interesting day of dialogue and ideas at the 2018 U.S. – Mexico Border Summit.”

Jon Barela, CEO of the Borderplex Alliance added, “President Zedillo is largely credited as one of the key people responsible for the democratization of Mexico. I’m looking forward to hearing his insights on governing Mexico during a critical time in its history and his thoughts on the future of the U.S. – Mexico relationship. We’re proud of the program we put together and the partnership with the SMU Mission Foods Texas-Mexico Center. Together we are hoping to elevate the discussion and make this the best summit yet.”

The 2018 U.S. – Mexico Border Summit will be held on August 15th, starting at 8 a.m. MT. The summit will include five panels covering trade, economics, politics, infrastructure, manufacturing, and more.

The summit will feature speakers, panelists, and experts from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Doña Ana County, The Mexico Center at the Baker Institute, The George W. Bush Institute, Union Pacific, the SMU Mission Foods Texas-Mexico Center, The Hunt Institute, the North American Strategy for Competitiveness Organization, the City of Las Cruces, Texas A&M University, UTEP, the Albuquerque Journal, GRUMA, and others.

Luisa Del Rosal, Executive Director of the SMU Mission Foods Texas-Mexico Center said, “We’re thrilled to partner with The Borderplex Alliance for this year’s summit. Mexico is the largest export market for Texas, and Texas is the largest exporting state in the U.S. With NAFTA currently under negotiation, this conference is perfectly timed to examine what’s next and how it impacts the border, the state of Texas and both nations.”